Promise me that someday you and I
by JosephineCrawley
Summary: June 1920. Downton gets ready for the wedding of the decade. Not even the arrival of an early wedding present can distract Matthew and Mary from their nervous impatience as they eagerly await the big day that will unite them forever. Fluff/Smut warning!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: After all that excitement with the leaked photos of the Series 3 wedding and car driving fluff, I just had to write this. Starts shortly before the wedding, Mary and Matthew's last engagement days. Then the WEDDING and – ahem – after (hence the rating for later chaps) Might send them off to a lovely honeymoon in the end...we'll see what happens inside my head as more S3 stuff leaks.

The title is from the song 'Oh Promise me that someday you and I' which was a popular Edwardian wedding song – It gained wonderfully silly notoriety in _Anne of Green Gables – The Sequel._

Comments, criticism etc. would make my day! Enjoy!

**Promise me that Someday You and I...**

C**hapter I – An early wedding present**

Matthew had been at work in the office when the note from the great house came in.

'Take the afternoon off. Something important came up. Call in after luncheon. - Lord Grantham.'

Matthew sighed and put the card aside. He could brave all this wedding preparation business happily, if only Mary was here to endure it with him. He already saw himself squished on an ottoman between her mother and his own, discussing flower arrangements and guest lists (which they had already revised four times in the past two weeks), while Mary went through yet another dress fitting in London.

Had it not been for this case of inheritence feud he was currently working on, he could have gone with her. Possibly for the first time in his life, Matthew cursed his job. He knew it was silly to miss Mary so much after only a few days of absence, especially when he thought back to the years of war, where he had barely seen her at all. Since their engagement in January, however, it seemed impossible to spend a single day without her.

A quick glance at his father's pocket watch told him that it was nearly luncheon, so he put on his jacket and left the small stuffy office room.

„Mr. Carter, I'll be absent for the rest of the day. I sifted through most of the widow's report. It doesn't strike me as reliable, though."

The elder solicitor, John Carter, looked up from his desk when his younger colleague came in. A Crawley. Oh, how they had all laughed when the lad had come to his office eight years ago, to apply for the job.

Why in heaven's name would the heir to the Grantham estate wish to work for a living? They had all wondered so, thinking it would only be a matter of months until they would have to find a replacement for the boy, once he had settled into the sweet idle life at Downton.

Over the years, however, Matthew Crawley had made himself quite indispensable to the law firm and Carter had grown quite fond of him as a person as well.

„Yes, yes. I was afraid so." replied he. „Taking the afternoon off then? More wedding preparations, I assume." Carter said, smiling.

Matthew grimaced. „Looks like it. Lord Grantham sent me a note, anyways, so I'm heading up there now. Have a good day." He put on his hat and closed the door.

At sixty-eight years, Carter would probably not see the day when Matthew was to be called by the title of Earl, but he liked to imagine that his children and grandchildren would proudly tell everyone: 'Our Grandfather had Lord Grantham work for him when he was young!' Carter chuckled softly as he watched the future Earl drive past his window on his rusty old bicycle.

The day was quite nice to be outside and Matthew enjoyed the familiar ride up to the grand house, relishing in the warm summer breeze that carried the floral scents of an English summer and sped him up when it came from behind, letting him fly to his destination.

If only Mary was there.

With a sigh he dismounted and leaned his trusty vehicle against the front facade of the Abbey. Before he got a chance to ring the bell, Robert came rushing out, looking alarmingly excited. „There you are. I've been waiting for you!" he cried and clapped Matthew encouragingly on the shoulder.

„Sorry. I came as soon as I got your note." Matthew said growing even more confused when Robert steered him away from the house towards the garage.

Cole, the new chauffeur, Thomas, Carson and a stranger in a suit were waiting outside, all congregated around something large and shapeless, hidden well under a stiff white cover. „... just got finished last month. It's the newest model and quite well equipped." The stranger told them eagerly.

„Mr. Pinkerton, we're ready. Show us, please." Robert said. Upon this order, the men lifted the covers to reaveal a shining dark-blue automobile underneath.

Matthew stared at it in pleasant surprise for a moment before he turned to Robert with a smile. „It's beautiful. I didn't know you wanted to get a new car." he remarked, looking back at the vehicle.

Robert chuckled. „Oh, it's not for us. Matthew, this is your wedding present. Yours and Mary's!"

Finally Robert got the desired reaction out of his heir. Matthew's chin fell down and his light blue eyes went wide.

He looked from the car back to Robert and back to the car. „Wedding..present?" he spluttered, blood shooting into his cheeks and neck.

„This is... really... but Robert...this is too much. A car! God, I mean, it's obviously...but, Robert..." Matthew was at a loss for words and Robert laughed out loud now.

„My dear boy, nothing is too much for my daughter _and_ her husband." he assured him. Matthew was not convinced. „No, no. This is too much." he protested, taking a deep breath to calm himself.

Robert frowned. „Don't you like it?" he wondered.

Matthew shook his head. „I'm sorry, it's not that I don't appreciate what you want to do...it's just that there is no need!" Matthew explained more gently. The last thing he wanted was to hurt Robert's feelings.

„Lord Grantham, if I could make a suggestion." Mr. Pinkerton piped up. „Perhaps Mr. Crawley will change his mind if he went for a test drive?"

Matthew's eyebrows shot up into the clear blue sky. „Which brings us to the next problem. I don't drive. Neither does Mary." he argued, wishing that he was alone with Robert, so he could explain himself better. The other men stared daggers at him, clearly judging his rude refusal of such a kind present.

How could Matthew admit it in front of them...that the present, though undoubtedly kind, was also hurting his pride somehow. He knew that he would get all of Robert's money and property one day, but until then he had always been proud of paying his own way. If Mary wanted a car in the future, he could safe money to buy it himself.

„I can see that this surprise is a bit of a shock, perhaps we should discuss it inside." Robert suggested to Matthew's infinite relief. Sometimes he wondered if Mary had taught her father how to read him like a book.

„Carson, could we get some refreshments?" Robert added, then turned to Pinkerton who looked a tad surly.

„Forgive me, Lord Grantham. Shall I take it with me again..for now?" The small pudgy man pointed a sausage finger at the car. Robert shook his head. „No. Please, leave it...for now."

Inside the library, Carson served cold lemonade, which Matthew glugged down gratefully. He felt rather hot after that display outside.

„Again, I am sorry for putting up a fuss." he apologized to Robert. „The thing is...I just can't accept such a huge gift. Not from you." He held up a hand seeing Robert's mouth open in argument.

„That came out wrong. It's just that...one day you'll give me all of this..." Matthew threw his arm out, indicating all the splendour of the magnificent house they were sitting in.

„Not to mention Cora's money." He went on with a slight shake of his head. Part of him would always feel guilty for his luck with the entail.

Then he met Robert's eye directly.

„Most importantly..." Matthew took a deep breath. „...you have given me Mary and that is...I could never thank you enough for bringing her into this world and into my life!" His voice caught a little at the his last words. With some effort he swallowed, trying to get a grip on himself as Robert saw him blush. Of course he knew how much Matthew loved his eldest daughter, but they rarely discussed the topic openly.

„So you see, every other gift I receive from you will always be too much!" Matthew muttered at last, oddly relieved now that he got these feelings off his chest.

Carson had stopped arranging a platter of sandwiches on a side table and stared at Matthew, an expression of gentle affection on the old butler's face.

„Matthew, I..." Robert did not know what to reply to such a speech. „You're welcome." he said simply after a moment of contemplation. If he had not loved Matthew already like the son he never had, he did now.

Matthew nodded, wishing again that Mary would just be bloody well here with him right now.

As if he could read his thoughts again, Robert cleared his throat. „Well...I had originally planned on showing the present to you and Mary at the same time. Alas, she's still with Rosamund." he concluded as he sat down, accepting a sandwich offered by Carson.

Matthew cocked an eyebrow. „I know." he growled into his lemonade, sounding almost comically forlorn.

Out of nowhere, Robert shot up and paced to the unlit fireplace.

„Here's an idea. She must be due back on Friday, so why don't you try and learn how to drive this car." he nodded towards the window „Then pick her up from the train station and Mary can decide whether to keep it or not!"

Robert already knew that he had won the argument once he saw the cogs in Matthew's brain working. He was clearly torn, unwilling to accept the extravagant present for himself, but he would never deprive Mary of it, if it pleased her.

„Well, that sounds quite...fair." Matthew agreed at last, smiling crookedly at his future father-in-law.

He would do it for Mary.

Thus, it was settled. Matthew would take driving lessons with Cole and Mr. Pinkerton from tomorrow until Friday, every afternoon when he got off from work.

As he headed home, treading into the pedals of his creaky old bicycle, Matthew imagined the look on Mary's face when he came to collect her at the station.

How he would stand there, leaning against the shiny new car, all dressed up in a dashing new driving suit. Mary was not easily impressed, he knew that. But her sisters had been smitten with motorists like Branson and Sir Anthony, so perhaps Mary would be equally unable to resist the charms of a man in a fast car...

Matthew grinned, feeling quite foolish for having such juvenile fantasies. And yet he could not shake the image of Mary's beautiful features glowing with adoration and pride when she sat next to him in their car as he sped her casually down the road to their future home. Matthew's heart surged despite himself.

Friday could not come soon enough...


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Sorry for the delay in update! Thanks a mill to those who reviewed! So Mary's back from the big city, with some interesting purchases ;) Some more engagement fluff, though we're nearing the big day! Driver!Matthew and Mary are having a bit of a spat...

Feedback would be lovely as always! Enjoy :)

**Chapter II. Lover's tiff**

Mary was incredibly tired. She tried to sit up straighter in her seat, as the familiar scenery of northern Yorkshire sped past her window. Bright sunlight tickled her nose and made her squint.

Yes, she had definitely not had enough sleep in the past days. But no, she was not nervous. Well, not much anyways. Perhaps a little as was only befitting of a bride-to-be.

_Matthew's_ bride...

Her heart gave a little flutter and she smiled idly at the thought of her fiancé, wondering where he was now and what he did. In his office, doing lawyer's work of course.

It suddenly occured to Mary that she had never actually seen his place of employment.

How was that even possible? His 'dirty little desk in Ripon' she had once called it, back in the days when Matthew Crawley had been like a big blonde blot on the perfect picture she had painted of her future.

'Marry a man who can barely hold his knife like a gentleman?' - What would her past self say if she saw her now? Happy with the dreaded cousin, excited about becoming the wife of a country solicitor to live in a house that was not even a tenth the size of her home...

Come to think of it, she had not been to Crawley House much either and soon she will be its mistress. It will be her house. Hers and Matthews. And Isobels.

She tried not to dwell on her Granny's dire warnings not to let ursurp her new status as Lady of the house. Truth be told, Mary thought it a tad hypocritical of her grandmother, considering what a hard time she herself had given Cora all these years.

Mary really was not concerned with questions of precedence or who would rule over the household. There was no need, for Cousin Isobel had calmed down immensely since the end of the war.

„Malton. Next stop Malton." the conductor announced.

Mary squirmed. She inspected her reflection in the window of the train cart and straightened her new hat a little. It was mauve-colored and cut after the newest fashion from Paris.

Aunt Rosamund had egged her on to buy far more than she had intended:

„You know, Mary dear, it will take a good few years until you'll be able to afford such an extensive shopping trip again."

Of course her aunt had not meant for it to sound as offensive as it did. Mary couldn't care any less. Matthew loved her and she loved Matthew, that was all she needed. Richard may have been able to indulge all her material whims, but Matthew gave her so much more. He made her truly happy.

When the train lost speed, Mary imagined that he would certainly come up for dinner tonight and she would wear the new cream coloured silk dress she had bought at 'Lucile' Lady Duff Gordon's last week.

With a blush Mary remembered those other 'concoctions' Rosamund had pushed her to buy there...

Lingerie. _Naughty_ lingerie.

It had all started so innocently, when Lucy Duff Gordon invited them to have tea with a few other women, Lady Agatha Carlton and Juliet Hale, Evelyn Napier's married sister, among them.

Mary hoped to God that Juliet would not tell her brother what had occured that afternoon.

When the talk turned to the upcoming wedding at Downton, Lady Lucy saw fit to introduce Mary to the most popular 'designs' from her latest collection.

She had always seen herself as a cool and level-headed person, but when the Ladies' talk turned to wedding nights and honeymoons, while Mary was holding an indecent scrap of frilly silk in her hands which 'Lucile' assured her would „drive Mr. Crawley wild" she simply could not deal.

The prospect of doing 'that' with Matthew always caused her break out in a tiny fit of nervous anxiety...

Oh, she wanted him! Very much in fact, but she was also conscious that it meant so much more this time than it did with Kemal!

At least Mary's obvious embarrassment in front of the lingerie-Ladies had worked wonders for her reputation. The women could not imagine that she would still be so enchantingly coy if all the nasty gossip about her was true.

„Downton. Next stop Downton."

Mary touched her cheek, positively glowing at the mortifying memories. Poor Anna will probably get a shock when she unpacks the box labelled 'Lucile'.

At long last, the London train came to a shuddering stop in Downton station and a conductor opened the door of Mary's First Class compartment. Steam clouded thickly around the platform as she looked for the familiar face of Cole, who would have quite a load of luggage to carry this time.

After ten minutes of pacing up and down the platform, she began to wonder if Papa had forgot to tell the chauffeur to pick her up.

Another ten minutes later, Mary was annoyed.

Walking to Ripon was not an option, not with all her luggage, which the conductor had kindly placed on a cart on the station.

Perhaps if she went quickly to the next cable office...oh, why can't they invent something like portable telegraph machines?

„My darling!" Mary spun around at the sound of _his_ voice.

„Matthew!" she breathed as he picked her up in his arms without further ado. An joyful laugh escaped her lips as he swung her around in a half-circle on the nearly deserted train station.

„I've missed you so much." he murmured into her neck, then put her back onto firm ground.

Neverminding the handful of witnesses around them, Matthew pressed his lips quickly to hers. Mary happily succumbed to his kiss, mewling slightly when propriety forced him to withdraw at last. She looked up at him and the blissful smile she saw made her heart throb.

„I've missed you too...well, a bit." Mary teased. „Liar." he quipped, smirking at her.

„It's been a long week and a half." she admitted, when he took her arm and guided her slowly away from the station. He laughed. „You had a good time then?"

Instead of answering, Mary stopped cold in her tracks. „Matthew, did you come here with Cole?"

To her surprise, his smile broadened infinitismally and he pulled himself up to his full height.

„No. I said I'll bring you home myself."

Mary's face fell. „Oh dear." she moaned, glancing back at the large pile of suitcases and shopping boxes.

„What is it, darling?" he asked, mirroring her worried frown.

Mary turned to him with a wry smile.

„Only that I don't suppose we can strap all that onto your bicycle, can we?"

She pointed an elegantly gloved hand at the mountain of baggage behind them.

Matthew's smug expression wavered. Truth be told, he could not see how_ all that_ would fit into the car either, but he would try his best for her.

„Wait here." he said, brow creased in concentration. There had to be a solution.

Mary watched him step into the tiny conductor's house and noticed his odd attire for the first time. She had been so lost in his lovely blue eyes that the rest of his appearance had quite escaped her attention.

Until now.

What in heaven's name _was_ he wearing? Some large beige-colored coat over a sky-blue shirt and striped tie.

Mary hated that mercilessly judgemental streak of hers but it was hard to turn off.

In that instant her darling Matthew looked a little bit like something out of the circus. Only the large shoes and red nose were missing...

Of course she loved him far too much to tell him so and really it did not signify at all, but she could not contain her grin when he walked back to her, having settled his business with the conductor.

„It's alright. Mr. Godfrey has called Downton and they are sending Cole down to pick up your luggage. Don't worry, we can take your most valuable things with us now." he announced, quite enthralled with the happy smile she was giving him as he came towards her.

„Well done, Mr. Crawley. I'm impressed." she laughed.

Oh, how impressed you will be, my love, in a few moments, Matthew thought, as he picked up some of the boxes Mary had indicated.

When he touched a large package with a capital 'L' on it, Mary lightly slapped his hand away.

„NO! Not that one!" He gawked at her, startled by her panicked reaction and then observed with fascination how a delicate blush spread all over Mary's cream colored skin.

„I will take that one." she said more gently, avoiding his eyes.

„Why ?" he asked innocently, his curiosity really peaked now.

Mary ignored the question. Suddenly, a thought struck him.

„Oh God..it's not..is it your...dress?" he stuttered, eyeing the mysterious box with a new-found reverence. Her wedding gown...

Mary shook her head impatiently. „No, it isn't. Well...it's related. But never you mind!" she snapped, walking faster, not actually knowing where he had parked his bicycle.

Matthew laughed quietly, marvelling at the fact that he seemed to have managed to make Lady Mary Crawley all tense and flustered. He struggled to keep pace with her, sweating in this blasted driving coat, under the burden of her luggage boxes.

'We carry more luggage than the porters at King's Cross.' she had said to him before he proposed to her. Matthew smiled at the fond memory. Now he knew what she had really meant by it...

His blue eyes roamed over her feminine figure as she walked briskly in front of him. Unable to stop watching and utterly mesmerized by the soft swing of her hips, his gaze would glide all the way down to the womanly shape of her...

_God_, he really mustn't think of _that!_ Not yet at least...

A drop of sweat slipped from under his grey driving cap and he was glad to see the car only a few feet away from them.

The situation was not at all how he had pictured Mary's first encounter with the car, certainly not with him puffing behind her under the weight of ten tons of shopping loot.

Like a love-drunk mule in the guise of a lawyer.

However, Mary's final reaction made up for it tenfold. As soon as she saw the car, her brain put two and two together and it all made sense: Cole's absence, Matthew's clown's suit..no, driving sui...

„Oh my...but _Matthew_!" Mary dropped the box carelessly, it made a soft thud on the ground. Matthew threw his own load down to catch her in a fierce embrace. Her excitement worked like a drug on him and he kissed her passionately, not caring a whit whether they were seen now.

Sliding his lips firmly over hers, he still never dared to touch with his tongue, though he wanted to, _so badly_. Not yet, he thought impatiently...soon, very soon.

„Do you like it?" he asked her breathlessly once their lips parted.

Mary laughed again. She loved it. A car meant freedom for them. They could drive anywhere they wanted now. Together.

„I do! But I can scarcely believe you just went and bought a car!" Mary laughed, imagining their future in a whole new light...

To her surprise, Matthew stiffened and his happy face dissolved into an odd expression of surpressed hurt. He stared at her hard, blinking a few times.

Bought it! He scoffed inwardly at her casual assumption.

Mary did not understand his sudden change of mood at all. „What is it?" she asked innocently.

Matthew tried his best to smile and shrug off his insecurities. It was stupid really and he ought to get past it. Most of all, it wasn't Mary's fault...

„Let's get in and I'll tell you." he suggested, bending down to retrieve the discarded boxes.

He threw them into the backseat, before he gallantly opened the door of the passenger side for her.

„Milady." he joked, though Mary saw that the wonky smile did not quite reach his eyes.

He was brooding over something, she could feel it.

„Thank you, Crawley." she joked back, playing along with his attempt to gloss over the ire.

The black leather of their shared front seat was extremely comfortable and Mary eased into it with a sigh, while Matthew worked on the hand crank to start the engine.

Unfortunately, the engine kicked back about six times before it came to life at long last and Matthew wished he had not let Cole do the cranking those past few days. A bit of practice would have made this look a lot less stupid than it did now.

Mary, however, did not seem the slightest bit perturbed and said nothing when Matthew finally settled next to her, his ears and cheeks rather pink, whether from exertion or embarrassment she could not tell.

„It's a lot harder than it looks." he commented, smiling after all when he caught her serene expression. Mary was happy, nothing else mattered.

Matthew took a deep breath and tried to concentrate on the car.

There were three pedals at his feet. Once he had released the lever for the handbrake and pushed down onto the left gear pedal, he could enter low gear to get the car moving. They left the bit of green where he had parked and slid safely onto the road.

He pulled the floor-mounted lever into an upright position which got them into neutral gear.

Next, Matthew took his foot off the left pedal and pushed the throttled forward to enter high gear.

With an inward sigh of relief Matthew had them drive down the road at a leisurely pace.

He stole a furtive glance at Mary, gauging her reaction.

„What's so funny?" he wondered as he saw the twinkle of amusement in her brown eyes.

„You."

Mary had rarely seen anything more comical or more adorable than Matthew's face when he was in deep concentration. His eyebrows knitted together over his twitching nose, and (for some reason she kept staring at it) the tip of his tongue peaked out of his mouth ever so often.

Then he licked his lips again. She knew it was a subconscious habit of his, usually brought on when he was either nervous or excited.

Her fingers practically itched to smooth away that frown on his brow...take off that silly cap and run them through his floppy blonde hair.

Matthew felt Mary's eyes on him and it was both intensely exciting and terrifying at the same time.

„So, what do you think, darling? Do we like this car?" he said hoarsely, trying to sound casual.

Mary looked around at the countryside they were passing by, glad that he did not drive too fast. She enjoyed the scenery, in particular after those gruelling days in the city.

„Yes, it's fun, isn't it? And you are a wonderful driver, if I'm any judge." she said, sounding truly impressed.

He readjusted the rearview mirror with one hand, an unnecessary action, but he figured it looked mighty professional. Learning to drive had not been as easy as he had expected.

On his first day he came at it with the confidence of someone who had learned to do a lot of things over the past years that he had never cared to learn about - Like leading soldiers into battle or killing heaps of nameless strangers, to name only a few...

Compared to that, driving a car had not struck him as a particularly daunting skill to acquire.

He was wrong.

On the second day of lessons, he had nearly run over Cole who was cranking the engine, then hardly managed to drive more than a few feet from the house and almost landed them in a ditch.

His only motivation remained the prospect of surprising Mary...

Matthew turned to her again in the car, adoring how the sunlight illuminated her ivory skin...the healthy glow of her cheeks and rosy lips...and those lovely freckles splashed here and there.

He could count them almost. One, two, three..

Mary was gazing at something in the distance, eyes soft and relaxed. She closed them and an almost sensual sigh escaped her parted lips. Matthew's heart stumbled wildly and he suddenly felt this unbearably sweet pain within his chest, a dizzying ache of longing that only Mary could inspire...

With a violent lurch, the car stopped dead in the middle of the road. They were thrown forwards like rag dolls in their seat, then got startled by a loud honking and angry shouts from a man in a Ford behind them.

The apoplectic-looking motorist had only just managed to veer off before crashing smack into them from behind. „Oi! Watch out you bleedin' idiot!" he roared amongst other colorful terms of abuse, shaking his fist in the air as he sped past them.

„Dear Lord...what's been happening?" Mary panted, sufficiently winded by this interlude.

Matthew had a pretty good idea what had happened. God, how could he have been so stupid?

He'd let himself get so distracted by Mary that he had accidentally pushed the lever for the brakes instead of the throttle!

A group of people along the road were still staring at them, though it was not clear if they had all witnessed the near-collision. Matthew pressed his lips tightly together as he got out of the vehicle. to crank the engine anew.

He wanted to kick the car and tell those nosy villagers that there was nothing to see. from the post office walked past, smirking at his efforts. Matthew doffed his cap, his lips still a thin line. Of course his anger was misplaced and irrational.

The choleric driver had been quite right, he should have watched out! Matthew was utterly furious with himself for having such a terrible lapse. Irresponsible! Completely unacceptable! Thank God nothing worse had happened!

For a split second he allowed himself the absolute horror of imagining Mary getting hurt in an accident...or worse.

He couldn't even...it would be the end of him!

Muttering curses under his breath, Matthew took another five minutes to get the engine roaring again. Mary sat patiently in the car, only outwardly collected. Inside she was trembling.

If Matthew ever got into a car crash...

Oh no, she would _never_ allow him to drive in this tin can anywhere! Not without her!

For a few miles, he drove them in complete silence, stewing in his own rage.

„Well, I'd say you better not go for a tour without Cole in the future, not until you have learned to drive properly." Mary decided.

„It wasn't that. I just wasn't paying attention." Matthew muttered darkly, keeping his eyes firmly trained on the road ahead.

Mary scowled. „I'm serious. After only a week and a half, you're hardly an expert driver. And it's _dangerous_." She berated his profile, annoyed with his attitude.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, Matthew registered the worried tone of her voice.

„After four days! Your father gave it to us on Monday." he corrected through gritted teeth.

„And it was a rubbish idea to begin with!" he added bitterly for good measure.

Mary blinked in confusion. „Papa bought this? I thought..."

He shot her a withering look and she suddenly understood his strange mood from before.

Matthew was very proud. He would not appreciate an exaggerated gift such as this.

„I know what you thought!" he burst out. All of Matthew's previous frustration bubbled up to the surface. If only he could turn off this stupid insecure nagging voice in his head! It was unlike himself and he wanted to stop, but the words were already tumbling out...

„Had I known that you wanted a car, I would have saved up for it! I may not be your father or _Sir _Richard Carlisle who could purchase half the stock of London's department stores for you, but I'm working on it, alright? And for your information...I have only pushed the wrong lever on this _damned_ thing because you distracted me so much I could not take my bloody eyes off you! So it was really _your_ fault, not my lack of driving lessons! I drive _just _fine!"

Matthew vented his emotions, vaguely aware that his accusations were quite petty and unfair. The moment he had finished his rant, he felt instantly sorry. Only it was difficult to apologize after a scene like this.

It had been a good while since Mary had last seen him fly off the rails like this. If she had the power to be more reasonable than him in such a situation, to stay calm and wait for his temper to fizzle out, the argument would die down within the next five seconds.

Unfortunately, Mary shared Matthew's temper, so she would definitely not let him get away with his nonesense. Absolutely not!

„What? So it's _my_ fault that _you_ can't drive a car like a normal person? I _distracted_ you? Honestly, that is by far the most idiotic thing I have ever heard!" she cried furiously over the roar of the engine, just as Matthew pushed the throttle, now that they were safely out of traffic, to speed them towards Downton.

„It's true!" he replied, eyes wide and a grim smile on his face. „This is always my trouble!

When you're not around I can do everything perfectly fine, and when you're with me I turn into a clodhopper!"

All told, Matthew didn't exactly know what his point was, he just knew that Mary befuddled his brain all the time.

„What on earth are you rambling about?" she flared up, the color rising in her face.

„I..well...oh, I don't know. Sometimes I just can't _think_ properly...when...when you look at me like that!" he blurted, blushing at his confession. Mary was silent for a while, contemplating this.

„My, that's very convenient. So whenever you do something stupid you're going to blame it on me for confounding you?" she asked, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow at him. Matthew knew perfectly well how ridiculous he sounded.

„Remember the shoot on New Years?" he threw at her, a lopsided smirk accompanying the memory.

Mary's eyes went wide and a derisive laugh burst from her lips.

„Oh, no no no...don't you dare blame that on me! You said yourself you're not good at it!"

Downton Abbey came into sight in the far distance.

„Darling, I've had four years of shooting practice in France to improve my aim." Matthew explained, a wry smile playing around his mouth.

Mary fell immediately silent. He so rarely talked about the war, and she still didn't know how to react properly when he did. Especially now when he just casually threw it in like a joke.

„Then you shouldn't have asked me to shoot with you...or drive with you for that matter, if I'm really the source of all your troubles!" she concluded eventually. Really, he could be so infuriating and childish at times!

Out of the corner of her eye, Mary caught him gazing at her, though he quickly drew his attention back onto the road. He'd learned his lesson for the day.

„That's not an option. I can't be without you anymore...you know that." he muttered matter-of-factly as if it settled the matter once and for all. Mary couldn't help herself, the corner of her mouth twitched, though she was determined not to let him get away with his prior accusations so easily.

Slowly the car spluttered to a halt in front of the great house.

Matthew pulled the handbrake and sat back. The betrothed couple stared at each other, not quite able to remember when and why exactly they had started arguing

„Matthew?" Mary said softly.

„Yes?" he replied, a little out of breath, leaning into to her. Oh she was so close now...

„Do I make you nervous?" Her voice was barely more than a whisper, but it resonated through his body and soul. Matthew swallowed, then breathed deeply...her scent was clouding his brain.

His light eyes drifted to her moist lips, delicate and beautiful like rose petals. He licked over his own. Mary saw the quick sweep of his tongue and burst out laughing.

Her mirth left Matthew bewildered and a little frustrated, until he felt the strong pull of her slender hand on his new striped tie.

„Welcome home, darling." he panted on her lips, before capturing them fully with his.

Mary melted against him, allowing his arms to encircle her and draw her over onto his side of the car's front bench.

The sweet intensity of this kiss obliterated all remnants of their recent tiff, and they quietly laughed into each other's mouths.

Matthew pulled her very close then. „Yes my dear, you make me terribly nervous...but you must promise never to use it against me." he whispered against her cheek. Mary shivered.

Oh, she could not promise that. Her mischievous smile let him know as much.

„I'm proud of you." she said instead.

„Of what?" he laughed, still holding her close.

„Learning to drive me around in only four days!" Mary said in earnest, then leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to his burning cheek.

Matthew beamed at her. „I'll drive you anywhere you want to." he said at last, as he lovingly played with a windswept strand of dark hair that stuck to the side of her face.

„And will you teach me? After the wedding?" she asked, an excited glow in her doe's eyes.

„I will...if you tell me one thing." he proposed slyly.

She had not expected him to come up with a request in turn.

„Alright." Mary agreed slowly.

Matthew's smile grew more impish.

He reached over their seat to where her luggage was stored and retrieved one of her shopping boxes.

It was the one labelled 'Lucile'...

- „What in God's name_ is _in this box?"


End file.
